By Wang Huaiyu, General Office of DRC Research Report No.187, 2015 (Total 4872) 2015-12-8

Abstract:

Technologically advanced countries have generated intellectual property and gained huge benefits by reliance on resource-rich countries, whereas resource-rich countries have no institutional base to participate in sharing such benefits while bearing pressures on maintaining resources. To tackle such unfairness, some international treaties and fifty plus countries have stipulated a benefit sharing system, i.e. if a country has generated intellectual property and gained relevant benefits from resource-rich countries or regions, it must share relevant benefits with resource-rich countries or regions. China’s genetic resources and traditional knowledge are heavily usurped by other countries, but China has not set up a benefit sharing system. Hence efforts should be made to speed up construction of a benefit sharing system from the following four aspects: 1. Delve into ways on constructing a distributional mechanism of benefit sharing with a focus on traditional medicine; 2. Based on local governments as the major force, push ahead with constructing a database of genetic resources and traditional knowledge and exploring a distributional mechanism; 3. Set up as soon as possible China’s benefit sharing system according to relevant regulations of the State Council; and 4. Benefit sharing system should not become an obstacle curbing cooperation.

Key words: benefit sharing, genetic resources, traditional knowledge